To be honest...they at least say it is beta...all other mainstream systems say they are final,but however they constantly need updating as flaws are found--sounds like beta,doesn't it?? I am and have been since release,a fan of Vista and also of Win7,love both for different reasons...but needing so many updates,does that not signify Beta? In other words..just a term which is over-used because true beta is an unknown quality until all bugs are fixed and is stable when used alongside other applications.Even XP,after passing its end-support date..is still receiving critical updates,so it's in effect a beta version although it has reached the end of it's official support.